" Isobel don't look so surprise, I was the one who gave mark the idea of bringing you out of the future ever since princess Tessa told us about you". Isobel looked at her, she was so confused at all Andrea just said.
" Future.... wait how did Tessa knows about me", Andrea smiled at the naiveness of the New princess.
" This is not your world Isobel, it took us a lot of effort for mark to bring you here using the connection between you and the princess. If am correct, you Isobel, are the reincarnation of our princess Tessa, you are her future self, that's why you look exactly alike". Isobel stared at Andrea for a while to make sure she wasn't joking about this.
Isobel smiled not wanting to expose the fact that she doesn't believe a thing Andrea just told her. " Well if that's the case how did you all know I existed".
" Because of our princess, she has been dreaming about you". Isobel looked at her with seriousness, she remembers how she would always dream about weird things, weird places. Then, she almost thought she would go crazy trying to find the meaning of her dreams, now it turns out, Tessa had the same experience as she did, but the idea of she having a weird connection or reincarnation of the princess, just wasn't making sense to her.
" I remember then, she would always tell us about her weird dream of people on strange clothings, she even made mention of a chariot that moved without horses". Isobel was confused about that, what chariot will move without horses, CARS, after a while she came to realize, Tessa was talking about cars, Isobel couldn't help but burst into laughter as Andrea looked at her with surprise, not knowing what was so funny to her.
" Why are you laughing?" Andrea asked surprised.
" No it's nothing, I just remembered something, please continue".
" Then she was always Disturbed whenever she sleeps and wake up, she always told us about the person who looked alot like her, so when we saw, it was becoming her issues, we took her to the priest".
Andrea looked at the ceiling with a smile, Isobel couldn't help but wonder why she was smiling.
" I remember then, it wasn't easy sneaking the princess out of the palace, if not of Mark's help, we wouldn't have succeeded". Isobel was going to say something but on further thought she decided to keep it to herself.
" I remember something really strange happened that day, when the priest was performing his rituals, the princess suddenly fainted and when she woke she was saying weird things". Isobel sat up on the bed as her curiousity wouldn't make her lie still. Andrea followed suit afterwards.
" She said she saw you this time she said it wasn't a dream but you where really there, she said she even talked to you, though we didn't believe it at first but when we saw how serious she was, we choose to believe her. Princess Tessa is really incapable of lies". Andrea smiled as she appeared to be in deep thought but Isobel was in deeper thought as her mind flashed back to meeting Tessa.
Though she felt it was real, she choose to believe that it was nothing but a dream but now it turned out to be real after all, maybe she does have a connection with the princess like they claim, Isobel thought to herself.
" So if I had a connection with Tessa how come mark was the one I always see in my dream".
" Well that's because, Tessa was a connection to you as well as an anchor to our world so we couldn't send her to your world, since she was the anchor, so we had to send someone else, someone strong enough to reach out to you". Andrea can see the confusion in isobel's eyes, no doubt, she didn't understand a thing.
" Ok let's put it this way, there are two end having just one door, we can't send the door to one side because the other side with be closed forever, so we had to let the door stay in the middle so there can be passage between the two worlds and princess Tessa was our door".
Isobel finally got the point, she smiled looking at Andrea, " you know, Tessa is lucky because she has you guys as friends. As for me, I would always dream about Tessa too but no one believed me" Isobel's face was getting emotional which Andrea noticed.
" You know I, Mark and the princess, we are not young friends, we were all friends since childhood and we know Tessa, she is the kindest person I ever know, she can't even lie about anything that's why we believed her when she told us about it, especially mark, he did everything to find you so she would be at peace".
Isobel smiled faded as she tries to imagine the possibility of that cold mark doing so much just for someone else's happiness.
" How would finding me make her happy, I don't understand". Andrea's face became nervous as she signed deeply, trying not to make an eye contact with Isobel. " Well, at least she would know of your existence, and the constant dream would stop. Am sure since you were also having similar dreams, you must have looked for Way's to make it stop right?".
Isobel understood Andrea's point, she was even desperate enough to meet up with a witch doctor, so she does have a point, finding her would have made it stop.
Andrea cleared her throat, she was glad to see Isobel bought the story. She wasn't a very good liar especially since Isobel has been nothing but nice to her.
Isobel had so many more questions to ask but she knew the topic was getting too intense so she just decided to let it go.
" So did mark and Tessa had any kind of special feelings" Isobel could feel the sadness in Andrea's eyes when she asked that question.
" Am not sure about mark but I know Tessa loved him, she even confessed her feelings to him but he refused". Isobel wasn't surprised, Mark doesn't know what's good for him, she thought to herself.
Though I very much understand his point, Tessa is a princess, soon to be made queen, while he is her bodyguard, so they can't be together".
" What!!!!". Isobel tried to control it but she couldn't help but scream out loud. " Mark is a bodyguard, so why is he...." Isobel clenched her teeth, he was just a bodyguard, so how dare he order the princess around but on second thought, she isn't the princess.
Andrea looked at her as she laughed, Isobel expression was quite funny.
" He used to be the body guard of the princess but now he has been placed as the minister of affairs, that also means, he is the queen right hand man". Isobel shook her head.
" You know Mark is not a bad person, he is just going through a lot after we lost the princess, am sure he is feeling guilty for not been able to protect her, it is slowly eating away his happiness". Isobel find herself growing pity for him but she quickly removed the thought from her head.
" So you, do you have feelings for Mark". Andrea heart skipped after hearing Isobel's question. She couldn't afford an eye contact with Isobel who was trying to read her expression.
" No we are just friends". Isobel pretended to believe her even if she knows something was off, she decided not to discuss the issue any further.
" So how is Tessa now, I know she is sick, how bad is it".
" For now, she is in a coma but we will be able to revive her in 5 years, that's why we are grateful for your presence, it's all thanks to you that we would be able to cure the princess".
" And by then I would have my Fred back". Isobel smiled to herself. Andrea couldn't bare the guilt as she watch her happy with the hope of seeing Fred again.
" My princess it's already Dawn without us knowing, it time for us to get some rest". Andrea stood up from the bed as Isobel watched her in surprise.
" Where are you going, aren't you going to sleep here". Andrea smiled at her before leaving.
" Sleep well princess".
Isobel fell back to her bed, her mind flashed back to when Isobel told her, Mark wasn't always such a scary person. He took good care of Tessa but why was he treating her that way like he wants her dead, she does look a lot like Tessa after all but on second thought, she knows if she had seen someone that looks like Fred, she would be mad too because it would be like he is so close yet so far. That must be really frustrating for Mark. Isobel gently closed her eyes and allow herself sleep.
It's hadn't been up to two hours since she fell asleep, Mark came in after knocking for a while which she didn't hear due to her deep sleep.
" My princess, it's morning already, you should be up from bed". Mark said that gently but his words was given no response. He moved towards her. She was a sleeping beauty no doubt. Mark remembered he would always stare at Tessa whenever she was sleeping, if he notice any sign of her waking up, he would always run to the door before she could notice his presence. The scene right now felt just as familiar.
Isobel had a bad sleeping manner as she has folded herself on the bed, her hair was all over her face. Mark could see she was uncomfortable about that but she couldn't get them off her face. He couldn't help but smile, she is cute whenever she is sleeping, he slowly removed the stray hairs on her face gently, so as not to wake her up but he still ended up waking her as his sword had hit the table when he was just about leaving.
" Mark" Isobel muttered, she wasn't sure whether or not it was him but the back does look like his.
" Humans would have woken up 7 hours ago so tell me, are you human". Isobel was having a very good morning until this but she wasn't about to let him ruin her good mood.
"Sire I was reading through out the night so I woke up late" Isobel said with a mischievous smile, she dropped her head down, not ready for an eye to eye contact with him.
" Good because I want you to recite the rules without making a single mistake". His eyes were cold and devilish, it almost like he was certain she would mess things up.
Isobel was about to start speaking before she realized, she had forgotten everything, just few minutes ago she was sure she remembered but after seeing his face, her mind went blank.
After all that drama yesterday, Mark would be dieing to see her mess up, she can't give him that satisfaction but at the same time no matter how hard she tried, it was all gone, she couldn't put them together. Isobel was sure all this happened because she was nervous.
A knock on the door saved Isobel from the hot seat. Andrea rushed in looking quite worried, it was obvious something was wrong. " There is a problem" with the look on Mark's face, it was obvious he doesn't want to discuss it in Isobel's presence.
They both left the room, leaving Isobel completely clueless.
They were already few metres away before they felt it was safe to talk. " Mark we have a problem, it's Angelica, I don't know how she did it but the coronation will hold tomorrow morning. By tomorrow, Angelica would be made queen.